Ancient town Ulpia Eskus
The ruins of the ancient town Ulpia Eskus are located in Northwest part of Gigen village, 5 km. away from the place where the Iskar River (known in the antiquity with its Thracian name Eskus) flows into the Danube. The town was founded in the I-st century in the neighborhood of a Thracian settlement from Late Bronze and early Iron Age. Eskus was created as camp settlement of the IV Scythian and V Macedonian legions of Rome.
The bloom of Eskus was in II and III centuries and during the reign of Constantine the Great. The village was occupied an area ofabout 280 000 m2 and by size is similar to the other ancient towns as the Roman Nove near Svishtov and Nicopolis ad Istrum near village of Nikyup.
During its existence the city was repeatedly under Gothic and Huns invasions and finally it was destroyed by the Avars in the VI century (585). In X-th century on the ruins of the ancient Eskus here was built a Medieval Bulgarian village, which existed until XIV century.
The archaeological research within the ancient city were uncovered and restored walls of the fortification system, public and residential buildings, a road network, town square and others.
